baker



ug. 22, 1933. J, F L, BAKER I 1,923,770

MEANS FOR MANIPULATING THE DUST BLOWER PLUGS OF WATER TUBE BOILERS Filed00T.. 16, 1930 cig TTOjPNEY Patented Aug. 22, 1933 f 'UNITED s TATEsf-BLOWER PLUGS Bormes f e OF WATER TUBE John F. L. Baker, Saginaw, Mich.,assigner to Wickes Boiler Co., Saginaw, Mich., a Corporation of Michigani Application oember 1s, 1930. serial Ne. 489,042

f 1 claim. (o1. 2er-131) This invention relates to water tube boilersand is particularly applicable to boilers in which waste gases fromcement burning kilns are utilized for generation of steam. In suchboilers cement dust, carried by the kiln gases,fsettles onthe `watertubes and must be blown away periodically because it would becomesolidified and permanently set ifv exposed to the atmosphere for anyconsiderable time.

A number of tubular thimbles extend clearv through the water header.They are expanded into the tube sheet and into the hand hole sheet andare in staggered relation to the water tubes in the tube sheet. Thethimbles are of appropriate diameter to permit the lance or tubularnozzle of a pneumatic dust blower` to pass through them and be movedback and forth and variously directed so as to remove dust from theboiler tubes throughout their length. While the boiler is in service thethimbles are usually kept stoppered by means of removable plugs so as toat least partly prevent air leakage into the combustion chamber. Theplugs have heretofore been taken out and re-inserted manually, .one at atime in consecutive order, by the-at.-

tendantwhile he was engaged in cleaning the boiler tubes. Necessarilythe plugs have been inserted into the thimbles somewhat loosely with theresult that they were more or less ineffective in preventing air leakageinto the combustion chamber.

A boiler of the size usually installed in the waste gas iiue of a cementkiln will have about 5 Aseventeen hundred of these cleanout thimblesVand plugs, and since the cement dust should be blown from the tubesonce every day it is obvious that speed is necessary in the severaloperations of removing the plugs, inserting the blower, manipulating thedusting blast, withdrawing the blower and finally reinserting the plugwith suflicient care and accuracy to cause it to form an effectiveair-tight joint.

The present invention has to do with a thimble which is internallytapered and a tapered plug adapted to make an air-tight nt therein, alsoa plug handling device` This device comprises a lever arranged andadapted for quickly loosening the plug from its tight fitting seat, eX-.tracting it from the thimble and thereafter holding the plug grasped insuch a way that the attendant can quickly and accurately aline it withany thimble and crce it fairly into place, The operations of removingmany plugs and replacf `ing them are thus performed easily and speedily,

and each plug is inserted to make an air-tight t. l

vrarsENr- VokFFicr.I Simatic H 'l i MEANS FOR MANIPULATNG THE DUST- Morespecifically, the inventionY comprises a plug that is tapered and hasalso anend -ormed to present a lug or bail, in conjunction with a plugmanipulating handle co-operating with the bail and comprising a leverhaving a head, ap? propriately "nook-shaped, arranged to be quicklyv andeasily engaged with the bail. .The head is also provided with a heel oriulcrum adaptedto taire its seat upon the'hand-hole sheet, adjacent athimble, thel hook and heel'serving to forcibly draw the plug free fromits seat and remove it from the thimble. Furthermore, theV plug and itsbail are so shaped that when the plug has been .extracted it will standstraight out` from .the end of Ythe lever, Yin lsubstantial axialparallelism therewith, after the manner of a spear head on a stair. Thepurpose-oiholding the plug in 'such longitudinal alinement onthe handleis to enable the operator to:y riiorecer-v tainly guide the plug byholdingthe handle With'l both hands, tochter it into a thimble and -toApush it accurately and tightlylto itsseat with rapidity andfwith minimumeffort, YAfter the plug is tightly seated, the vhook-shapedend of thelever detaches itself from the bail of the plug, being formed suitablyfor that purpose.

My invention accomplishes all of the stated results by simple andeiective means and in a novel manner.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side View of a water tubeboiler, showing the application of my invention thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end View, showing vpart of the header of a Watertube boiler employing my invention.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a part sectional detail, showing the tool cr Ylever attachedto the plug ready vto dislodge it.

Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a side view and an end view of apreferred form of bail for the plug.

Figs. '7 and 8 are respectively a side view and an end view of a plugwith amodied form of bail.

Fig. 9 is an end View of a modied form ofv the leverv head, adapted forhandling a plug having the bail shown in Figs. l and 8.

A boiler structure to which my invention isv applicable is shown in Fig.1 and consists of Water tubes 1 expanded into tube sheet 2, and ahand-hole sheet 3 spaced from the tube sheet by the usual stay-bolts 4and sleeves. Arranged in staggered relation with the tubes 1 andstaybolts are the thimbles 6 Whose outer ends 5 are expanded into thehand-hole sheet 3, as shown in Fig. 4. The outer end of thimble 6 isformed to a tapered bore 6a. A correspondingly tapered plug 7 isprovided having a pointed nose 7a and a bail 7b, which may be perforatedat 7c, as shown in Fig. 5, or alternatively, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8the bail 9 may be formed with lugs 9a.

A removable handle is used for manipulating the plug comprising the bar8 having a head formed to present a fulcrum 8a adapted to seat on thehand-hole sheet 3 adjacent the thimble 6. The head is lalso shaped topresent a hooklike member 8b located on the opposite side of the headfrom the fulcrum 8a and remote from it.

The hook 8b is preferably shaped to be inserted in the perforation 7c,as shown in Fig. 4, or if the modified form of plug illustrated in Figs.7 and 8 is used the hook may be bifurcated, as shown at 10 in Fig. 9, toengage the laterally projecting lugs 9a.

When the plug is free from the thimble the head of bar 8 and the bail 7bof the plug cooperate in supporting the plug in substantial axialparallelism with the handle. The lower edge 7d of the plug 7 rests onthe head near.

its tulcrum part 8a, and bail 7b engages hook 8b. In that way the plugis supported in alinement with the handle 6 and is prevented fromfalling 01T from the head under any Aconditions of ordinary handling.

In operation, assuming plug 7 to be tightly driven into the tapered bore6a of the thimble 6, the plug can be dislodged and removed by insertingthe hook 8b'into the aperture 7c of the bail as shown in Fig. 4, withthe heel 8a resting upon the plate 3. A downward pull on the bar'8extracts the plug. The plug, however, remains on the head andthe handleand its attachedplug can be laid aside during the operation of blowingthe tubes. After the blowing operation is finished the plug can bereinserted in the thimble 6 much more accurately and quickly than couldbe done if the operator were to pick up the plug in his hand and forceit into the thimble, because the handle holds the plug in position so itcan be pointed directly at the thimble and then driven forward to`tightly fit the plug intoV the thimble. The

operator can use both hands and exert as much force as he desires, theresult being an air-tight joint at 6a.

The hook V8b thereupon detaches itself from the bail andthe operatorapplies the tool to the next plug to be removed. As has been pointedout, the bail 7b, the head with its fulcrum 8a and hook 8b, and the bar8, together constitute an effective combination of devices forextracting the plug 7. The handle thereafter holds the plug in positionso it can be easily and quickly inserted in a thimble and can beforcibly driven in to make an air-tight joint.

'I'he operator after a short period of practice is able to remove theplugs and insert them at a much faster` rate of speed than hasheretofore been possible by mere hand manipulation of the plugs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

A device for removingand replacing tapered plugs in the tubular thimblesof a boiler handhole sheet, each plug havinga bail on its end, saiddevice comprising a bar having a head formed to present a heel-likefulcrum member which is adapted to seat on said sheet adjacent athimble, said head also shaped to present an oppositely extendinghook-like member positioned to releasably engage'the bail of said plugand adapted to serve also as a ram for driving the plug into tightseating engagement with a thimble, and a portion of said headintermediate said fulcrum, said fulcrum and said hook-like member beingshaped to engage an edge of the plug and provide a support for the samewhereby the plug is held in substantial axial parallelism with ioo thesaid bar when the plug is freed from the

